‘Online Monitoring’: Unilever Aims to Harness Vaseline’s TikTok Moment.

First identified more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the simple jar of Vaseline may not seem like an obvious target for digital platform algorithms.

However, its rise as a popular subject on TikTok has positioned it at the vanguard of an advertising revolution, in which large companies are allocating substantial funds to content creators and putting fewer resources into marketing items in conventional outlets.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

Originally produced in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers rubbing their skin with a derivative of drilling. Currently, a wave of amateur-created clips have chronicled its broad application in “everyday tips”.

Hailed as a fix for dirty sneakers or extending perfume longevity, along with a cure for noisy doorways. It has even been deployed to combat the nuisance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Spotting its digital renaissance, marketers at Unilever boosted the tips by asking their own scientists to test them and sharing the findings with influencers.

Suggestions that it lessened the sting of chili on the mouth were validated. Similarly supported were ideas it could extend fragrance and restore leather handbags. Proposals that it might whiten teeth or make eyelashes longer were debunked.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. Yet this viral episode has persuaded leaders to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to guide corporate planning has been termed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, newly named, has indicated the goal is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on platform-based material.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

The company's social media lead, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of reaching consumers. She said interacting online “without killing the party” was paramount.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and sharing usage tips.

“There’s this moving away from a mass communication approach, where we would just send out ads … Now it’s many conversations, many communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these groups seem specialized, yet they are vast.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by other people, recommended by peers, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Creators are critical to that. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

The strategy reflects profound shifts taking place in media consumption, with younger consumers spending more time on social media platforms than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The shift is reflected in drops in broadcast and newspaper ads. In the UK, ad revenues for major broadcasters have dropped substantially in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

It also reflects a media convergence as brands effectively act as media producers, collaborating with numerous influencers to boost their products.

Leon Harlow said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers from conventional channels and they’re spending a lot more time on digital video and image apps than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Many companies report to us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the creators they engage with compared to commercial messages. This is a persistent pattern.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by focusing on influencers over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to test effectiveness.

Such methods are increasing. Advertising spending on influencer marketing is rising at quadruple the rate than total media spending. Stateside, it has over doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit substantial figures in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Despite the huge changes, industry figures said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as networks still held the capability to drive countrywide discourse.

The executive noted: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still events like the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”